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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years ago

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All the books I reviewed in 2023 (Graphic Novels)

Next Tuesday (December 5), I'm at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC, with my new solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which 350.org's Bill McKibben called "The first great YIMBY novel: perceptive, scientifically sound, and extraordinarily hopeful."

It's that time of year again, when I round up all the books I reviewed for my newsletter in the previous year. I posted 21 reviews last year, covering 31 books (there are two series in there!). I also published three books of my own last year (two novels and one nonfiction). A busy year in books!

Every year, these roundups remind me that I did actually manager to get a lot of reading done, even if the list of extremely good books that I didn't read is much longer than the list of books I did read. I read many of these books while doing physiotherapy for my chronic pain, specifically as audiobooks I listened to on my underwater MP3 player while doing my daily laps at the public pool across the street from my house.

After many years of using generic Chinese waterproof MP3s players – whose quality steadily declined over a decade – I gave up and bought a brand-name player, a Shokz Openswim. So far, I have no complaints. Thanks to reader Abbas Halai for recommending this!

https://shokz.com/products/openswim

I load up this gadget with audiobook MP3s bought from Libro.fm, a fantastic, DRM-free alternative to Audible, which is both a monopolist and a prolific wage-thief with a documented history of stealing from writers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

All right, enough with the process notes, on to the reviews!

GRAPHIC NOVELS

I. Shubiek Lubiek by Deena Mohamed

An intricate alternate history in which wishes are real, and must be refined from a kind of raw wish-stuff that has to be dug out of the earth. Naturally, this has been an important element of geopolitics and colonization, especially since the wish-stuff is concentrated in the global south, particularly Egypt, the setting for our tale. The framing device for the trilogy is the tale of three "first class" wishes: these are the most powerful wishes that civilians are allowed to use, the kind of thing you might use to cure cancer or reverse a crop-failure.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/11/your-wish/#is-my-command

II. Ducks by Kate Beaton

In 2005, Beaton was a newly minted art-school grad facing a crushing load of student debt, a debt she would never be able to manage in the crumbling, post-boom economy of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Like so many Maritimers, she left the home that meant everything for her to travel to Alberta, where the tar sands oil boom promised unmatched riches for anyone willing to take them. Beaton's memoir describes the following four years, as she works her way into a series of oil industry jobs in isolated company towns where men outnumber women 50:1 and where whole communities marinate in a literally toxic brew of carcinogens, misogyny, economic desperation and environmental degradation. The story that follows is – naturally – wrenching, but it is also subtle and ambivalent. Beaton finds camaraderie with – and empathy for – the people she works alongside, even amidst unimaginable, grinding workplace harassment that manifests in both obvious and glancing ways.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/14/hark-an-oilpatch/#kate-beaton

III. Justice Warriors by Matt Bors

Justice Warriors is what you'd get if you put Judge Dredd in a blender with Transmetropolitan and set it to chunky. The setup: the elites of a wasted, tormented world have retreated into Bubble City, beneath a hermetically sealed zone. Within Bubble City, everything is run according to the priorities of the descendants of the most internet-poisoned freaks of the modern internet, click- and clout-chasing mushminds full of corporate-washed platitudes about self-care, diversity and equity, wrapped around come-ons for sugary drinks and dubious dropshipper crapola. It's a cop buddy-story dreamed up by Very Online, very angry creators who live in a present-day world where reality is consistently stupider than satire.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/22/libras-assemble/#the-uz

IV. Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki

The story of three young Canadian women meeting up for a getaway to New York City. Zoe and Dani are high-school best friends who haven't seen each other since they graduated and decamped for universities in different cities. Fiona is Dani's art-school classmate, a glamorous and cantankerous artist with an affected air of sophistication. It's a dizzying, beautifully wrought three-body problem as the three protagonists struggle with resentments and love, sex and insecurity. The relationships between Zoe, Dani and Fiona careen wildly from scene to scene and even panel to panel, propelled by sly graphic cues and fantastically understated dialog.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/11/as-canadian-as/#possible-under-the-circumstances

Like I said, this has been a good year in books for me, and it included three books of my own:

I. Red Team Blues (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

Martin Hench is 67 years old, single, and successful in a career stretching back to the beginnings of Silicon Valley. He lives and roams California in a very comfortable fully-furnished touring bus, The Unsalted Hash, that he bought years ago from a fading rock star. He knows his way around good food and fine drink. He likes intelligent women, and they like him back often enough. Martin is a—contain your excitement—self-employed forensic accountant, a veteran of the long guerilla war between people who want to hide money, and people who want to find it. He knows computer hardware and software alike, including the ins and outs of high-end databases and the kinds of spreadsheets that are designed to conceal rather than reveal. He’s as comfortable with social media as people a quarter his age, and he’s a world-level expert on the kind of international money-laundering and shell-company chicanery used by Fortune 500 companies, mid-divorce billionaires, and international drug gangs alike. He also knows the Valley like the back of his hand, all the secret histories of charismatic company founders and Sand Hill Road VCs. Because he was there at all the beginnings. Now he’s been roped into a job that’s more dangerous than anything he’s ever agreed to before—and it will take every ounce of his skill to get out alive.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

II. The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation (nonfiction, Verso)

We can – we must – dismantle the tech platforms. We must to seize the means of computation by forcing Silicon Valley to do the thing it fears most: interoperate. Interoperability will tear down the walls between technologies, allowing users to leave platforms, remix their media, and reconfigure their devices without corporate permission. Interoperability is the only route to the rapid and enduring annihilation of the platforms. The Internet Con is the disassembly manual we need to take back our internet.

https://www.versobooks.com/products/3035-the-internet-con

III. The Lost Cause (novel, Tor Books US, Head of Zeus UK)

For young Americans a generation from now, climate change isn't controversial. It's just an overwhelming fact of life. And so are the great efforts to contain and mitigate it. Entire cities are being moved inland from the rising seas. Vast clean-energy projects are springing up everywhere. Disaster relief, the mitigation of floods and superstorms, has become a skill for which tens of millions of people are trained every year. The effort is global. It employs everyone who wants to work. Even when national politics oscillates back to right-wing leaders, the momentum is too great; these vast programs cannot be stopped in their tracks.

But there are still those Americans, mostly elderly, who cling to their red baseball caps, their grievances, their huge vehicles, their anger. To their "alternative" news sources that reassure them that their resentment is right and pure and that "climate change" is just a giant scam. And they're your grandfather, your uncle, your great-aunt. And they're not going anywhere. And they’re armed to the teeth. The Lost Cause asks: What do we do about people who cling to the belief that their own children are the enemy? When, in fact, they're often the elders that we love?

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

I wrote nine books during lockdown, and there's plenty more to come. The next one is The Bezzle, a followup to Red Team Blues, which comes out in February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

While you're waiting for that one, I hope the reviews above will help you connect with some excellent books. If you want more of my reviews, here's my annual roundup from 2022:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/01/bookishness/#2022-in-review

Here's my book reviews from 2021:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#bibliography

And here's my book reviews from 2020:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#recommended-reading

It's EFF's Power Up Your Donation Week: this week, donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation are matched 1:1, meaning your money goes twice as far. I've worked with EFF for 22 years now and I have always been - and remain - a major donor, because I've seen firsthand how effective, responsible and brilliant this organization is. Please join me in helping EFF continue its work!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/01/bookmaker/#2023-in-review

#pluralistic #books #reviews #science fiction #gift guide #graphic novels #2023 in review #novels

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spikehunter · 14 days ago

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Can you document more of your linux journey? I've also been really feeling fed up lately and would appreciate guidance from a trusted source (local internet freak)

OK sure (and dont worry im proud to be a freak)

in tha beginning (2013) i had a shitty ubuntu laptop that sucked so technically my first Own Computer was linux but then i got a macbook because i needed a computer that didnt suck for school. Then i switched to windows because i wanted to learn gamemaker and gamemaker 1.4 only ran on windows. so i guess i have some experience in every major operating system? #computerGenius

well anyway as of one month from now they are shutting down the DAW i have been using (cakewalk) and that was the only program i used regularly that didnt also run on linux, so i figured if i had to learn something new anyway i might as well do it on linux. Right now im dual booting and the computer is still technically mostly win10 (600gb windows partition / 300gb linux partition), i put all my important files on an external drive and just transfer the ones i need into linux as needed, which is where i am Right Now doing usual computer stuff

installing linux i ran into some trouble that i think is the fault of my stupid Gamer Laptop which has had previous incidents of behaving badly for no reason but uhh basically what i did was download linux mint on a 4gb usb stick, load that according to instructions, and the problem was with the grub boot menu which i eventually fixed by booting from the stick, NOT launching the installer, and running boot-repair from there. And now it just works fine. im generally able to figure out command line stuff through googling and im not like, scared of dealing with the real Computery Computer shit, so its not really any more frustrating than windows.

overall: its good. i would not recommend it to someone who is averse to fiddling with software, like you do have to get into the terminal and try a bunch of suggestions from reddit comments and forums in order to get things to work, but if youre cool with that its really just a less annoying way to be on the computer. and the sooner the better probably seeing as profit-motivated computermakers are not getting any less annoying any time soon what with the artificial intelligences and all.

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winterinhimring · 3 months ago

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Where do I learn how to code and use linux? I want to try it but I don't know anything about coding.

I will do my best to help! The answer to that question is very long if I write it all out here, but a lot of it has been answered by other people, so I'll give you an overview and link you to some resources along the way.

The good thing is that you don't need any programming knowledge to use Linux. If you just want to try out the Linux operating system and see what it's like, I would start by downloading a program like Oracle's VirtualBox: https://www.virtualbox.org/

This will allow you to basically run a second, simulated, computer on your actual computer. From there, you can download a Linux image and install it, run it inside VirtualBox, and get familiar with the operating system. This has the additional benefit that if you do something wonky to your Linux virtual machine (VM for short) by mistake, you can just delete it and recreate it and no harm will be done to your actual computer. For a step-by-step explanation, see: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-run-ubuntu-desktop-on-a-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox#1-overview

Short aside: Linux is not a monolithic operating system like Windows or MacOS. Linux, written by a man named Linus Torvalds, is a "kernel" made up of certain very basic computer functions, and the rest of the operating system, things like the graphical user interface (GUI, to nerds like me) doesn't come with it. To be usable by normal people, Linux has to have that functionality filled in by other programmers, which creates something called a distribution, or distro for short. Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat, Linux Mint, and OpenSUSE are all Linux distros. Different distros are designed for different purposes. Ubuntu and Mint are both pretty friendly to normal folks who want to write documents, check their email, etc. RedHat is for large companies. There's a distro called Kali that's for cybersecurity and penetration testing. Etc. etc. etc. There are tons of distros. If you don't know which one to pick, I recommend Ubuntu or Mint, as I have experience with both, and they're fairly easy to use.

From this point out, a search engine will be your best friend. There are lots of helpful tutorials online, and also answers to almost any question you can imagine. If you're unsure where to start, documentation from the website of an official Linux distribution, like Ubuntu, is usually reliable, though it can be kind of opaque if you're not used to reading tech-ese. The tutorials on Ubuntu's site, however, seem to be structured with beginners in mind, and I would run through this one to start with: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/command-line-for-beginners#1-overview

Once you get to the point of having specific questions about how a command works or how to make the operating system do something, I would take a good look at any answers from StackOverflow, which is basically a website for computer people of all skill levels to ask each other questions ranging from the basic to the ridiculously obscure. If you're wondering it, chances are good someone on StackOverflow has asked it.

Other than that, click around your new VM, create files, find programs, etc. If you really get stuck, I'll try and help, but keep in mind I may very well be searching StackOverflow myself. XD

The other cool thing about VMs is that you can try multiple operating systems, i.e. Linux Mint (https://linuxmint-installation-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) which is pretty user-friendly, as I recall.

Once you get to the point where you actually want to install Linux, you'll want to back up your computer to an external hard drive so you can restore from the backup if something goes wrong, and then follow the instructions for your chosen Linux distro. LibreOffice runs on Linux and can open most Microsoft file types, so you shouldn't need to move your files to a different type, you'll just need to copy them somewhere (like another external hard drive or a thumb drive) and then copy them back when you're done with the installation. Obligatory word of warning: installing Linux on your actual machine, as opposed to a VM, WILL OVERWRITE YOUR ENTIRE HARD DRIVE. Do this with caution. Restoring from a backup is possible, so as long as you backed everything up you will not lose any data, but it can be a pain in the neck and if you're not particularly tech-savvy, you may have to go to a computer repair store to get them to do it.

Now, as to your question about learning to code: this requires no VM and no new installation; you can start doing that today. There are almost infinite tutorials online about how to start coding. CodeCademy.com is a pretty decent one, as I recall, though it's been a long time since I used it. There's also a channel on YouTube called BroCode that puts up free 'how to get started in this programming language' tutorials, which are pretty beginner-friendly. I would recommend that you start with either Python or Java (NOT JavaScript; it's not the same thing as Java, and it's a really annoying programming language, so don't do that to yourself). Python has syntax that is more similar to English than most programming languages and it is pretty powerful, but it may confuse you when you start moving to other programming languages. Java is less immediately comprehensible but probably more representative of programming languages as a whole.

Hope this helps! Feel free to send me follow-up questions or ask for clarification if I lapsed into tech-speak and this doesn't make sense.

#asked and answered #computers are haunted #and i work with the ghosts #called-kept #winter says things

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zoeythebee · 2 years ago

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Since you use Arch:

1) What made you choose Arch?

2) How hard is it to use?

3) If you do that, how hard is it to dual boot with Arch?

(I think many/maybe most Linux OS have documentation, but I'm not very familiar with Arch other than the memes. My main debugging skills are looking stuff up and asking people, in that order)

(The 3 distros on top of my to-try list are Debian, Mint, and Arch. I'd be delighted to have a reason to put one of them higher on the list.)

1. The size of the repository. With the AUR plus the already large official repository practically every program no matter how niche is one command away. And also the documentation is fucking incredible. I've been trying out Debian lately but honestly I might switch back because its repository sucks (latest neovim version is 6.x????) And the documentation is awfulllll.

2. Just as easy as every other distro. Also since you set up the environment you can tune it to your need. I tend to work exclusively through a terminal so I rock a super minimal setup.

Setup can be kinda tricky, installing is a process but the guide is very easy to follow, and there is also the archinstall script that makes the process way way simpler.

Setting up your environment is a rabbit hole but it's mostly installing programs and setting then up. You can install a display manager and KDE and have a totally fine easy to use experience with next to how effort. And while setting up I can practically guarantee the wiki has a detailed page with all the info you may need.

TL;DR the install process can be complex, setting up a desktop environment is super easy, and using it is very easy.

3. Dual Booting is either super simple. Or genuinely the hardest thing you can do with linux. If you dont mind manually opening the bios and switching the boot source to switch its easy.

If you want to be able to launch windows from GRUB without opening the bios prepare for hell on earth. When I tried it, it took a week and I never got it to work. And it's very easy to fuck up your boot loader and fixing that is extremely difficult with few resources online.

I personally

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otherworldseekers · 1 year ago

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Rarepair Week Day 2: Trophy | Lover's Token

A little bit of Severia x Nero writing from the Enemies and Lovers AU.

“Where have you been?”

Nero glanced up from his reports at the sound of the strident voice and the figure that strode uninvited into his office. “Dear Livia, have many times now have I asked you to knock?”

“I am here at my Lord Baelsar’s request,” his junior officer said.

“And I suppose with thoughts of our magnificent commander on your mind, you quite forgot what courtesy is,” Nero replied. With a sigh he set down the file he had been reading and turned to his insistent visitor. “Very well, what is it?”

“Lord Baelsar demands to know what took you away from your work here for such a long period,” Livia proclaimed. Nero suspected she was even smirking under her helmet.

“Other work,” Nero answered. “Baelsar is quite aware that I am doing the jobs of three men. If he is so anxious to have his Weapon completed he should find someone else to manage the Frumentarium. Oh, that’s right, there’s no one else with the intelligence required.” He gave her a pointed look. “The least you could do, Livia, if you truly want to see his wishes granted, is to take over some of my busy work.”

He reached across his desk for a messy pile of papers and dropped them on the floor at her feet. “You have said you would do anything for our Lord, have you not?”

Nero picked up the report she had interrupted and turned away, hiding his smug smile as she fumed beneath her armor. But eventually she gathered the scattered documents and stomped from the room, slamming the door behind her. Nero chuckled to himself. She really was too easy to manage. Her ridiculous obsession with the Legatus was her weakness of course. She would have been far more resilient if only she would give up on him. But she never would. The fool.

A small metal box that sat on the corner of Nero’s desk caught his eye. His newest trophy. Setting the report down once more, he took up the box and lifted the lid. A familiar fragrance wafted from the container. Gingerly he picked up the somewhat worn cake of soap from the box and held it to his nose. Strawberries and mint, an unusual combination, and only a part of her unique scent.

Severia Zetsuen. His secret. The true reason he had spent so much time away from the Castrum of late.

Nero smiled to himself as he recalled their most recent encounter. She had been shy and hesitant at first. Under normal circumstances he found that sort of thing tiresome, but with this woman some answering instinct rose up in him and told him she was worth the care and effort she required. And when the waves of her passion had risen up and crashed over both of them… Well, even with his experience, he had never felt anything quite like it.

Later, he had taken the opportunity to avail himself of some little token of hers. A cursory search of her pack had revealed the used cake of soap wrapped in oil cloth. Its fragrance wrapped around him, the scent of her skin before their exertions, and he knew he must have it.

Now, returning the little cake to its hiding place, he wondered if that had been wise. The urge to take it out and breath in its unique perfume was persistent. He found himself wondering when next he might arrange a meeting and considering ways to stall his work further. But he reminded himself it was all part of his grand plan. Nero might take his time and pleasure with her for now, but ultimately she was just another tool in his box.

Nothing would change that.

#Severia x Nero #xivrarepairweek #XIVrarepairweek2024 #WoLNero #Severia Zetsuen #Nero tol Scaeva #Enemies and Lovers AU #my writing #ffxiv fanfiction #i've got you under my skin

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dracoqueen22 · 8 months ago

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BlorboWriMo 2024 - Day Four

“A few, but none that matter,” Shively says. Translation, there are quite a few assholes in the unit, but they are cowards who will bow to your authority while whispering disparagement behind your back. “Worse is their experience.”

Cecil’s too practiced to show his irritation, but it rushes through him to the tips of his toes. “New graduates then?”

“More than half,” Shively confirms.

Cecil swallows his sigh. “They have to get experience somehow,” he says instead. “Come. I reviewed the reports last night, and I have a few suggestions for our approach.”

They discuss their upcoming mission on the way to breakfast. It’s a relatively simple task. Intelligence reports that the Ori are going to attempt to destroy one of their warships, but since the Ori always make it a point to try and take down any outgoing Templar ships, this comes as a surprise to no one.

More importantly, there have been glimpses of a blade with the possession of the Ori which could be the missing Zivati sword. Sirene. It’s highly unlikely that the Ori with the blade will be part of the Ori unit sent to dispatch the ship. Cecil’s orders are to stop the Ori and for once, capture, not kill. If there’s any truth to the rumor, Chief Commander wants to know.

“And I’ll be able to tell if any of them have come in contact with Sirene,” Vesper offers, which is news to Cecil.

“I wasn’t aware the Zivati had that ability,” Cecil says as he passes the documentation over to Shively for her review.

Vesper sniffs. “The Templar don’t know all our secrets,” she says. “But Sirene’s my wife. I’d know her anywhere. I know the taste of her presence.”

“Fair,” Cecil says.

“We should focus our efforts on capturing the unit leader,” Shively says as she flips from one document to the next, careful of the claws on her fingertips.

She’s one of the more bestial Wulfen Cecil has ever met, with her thick, grey fur and fluffy tail. Her digitigrade legs make boots impossible, and she wears little armor. Fluffy, large ears embrace the crown of her head, with a long braid of hair running between them and down her back.

Throwback, he’s heard whispered, and well, perhaps there’s a reason Shively does not protest serving with Cecil. They have much in common. There are as many whispers about Shively as there are about Cecil, only she doesn’t have to worry about nepotism as well.

Cecil is not anthro-kin, but he is the adopted son of Chief Commander Menelaus, and no matter how hard he works, everyone is quick to assume he is only in a position of command because of his father. He is also the only gemling in the Templar, his onyx horns and onyx-lined tail making him stand apart from the others.

Shively is a walking wolf, and Cecil’s natura-kin is obvious to anyone with eyes. They are not friends, but they do have a mutual respect, and that’s enough for Cecil. Friends have never done him any good.

“Though it will be difficult to determine which is their leader,” Shively continues before handing him back the documents. “The Ori are not known for having a clear command structure.”

Cecil folds the papers and tucks them into one of his thigh satchels. “Then we’ll simply have to take them all, let the interrogators sort it out.”

Conversation and the clatter of cutlery precede their entrance into the dining hall. It’s quieter than usual, with few stirring in the pre-dawn hours, large bowls of bacon, eggs, and biscuits lined up on a table for the eventual queue. Coffee and tea steam at another table, and Cecil’s stomach cramps with a mixture of hunger and anxiety.

He needs to eat something, so he grabs a biscuit, some jam, and a cup of tea. Mint, it smells like, which will go far to easing his nerves. Shively joins him a few minutes later, their table set apart from the main cluster in the middle. Her plate is piled with bacon.

They don’t talk. Sometimes, that’s better.

“You should eat more,” Vesper prompts as Cecil picks at his biscuit. Maybe he should have gotten coffee instead. Fatigue hangs over him like a blanket, weighing him down.

“I’ll eat later,” Cecil says. The smell of the bacon is worsening his nausea. Echoes of chatter float to his ears, despite his efforts to tune it out.

Some of the other soldiers are complaining about their assignments. One, in particular, is lamenting that he’d been assigned to Cecil’s unit, apart from all of his compatriots.

“Who even knows what he is?” they say in a raspy whisper, perhaps meant to be quiet, perhaps not. Cecil has always heard better than most. “It’s suspicious, isn’t it? We don’t even know if he’s actually Templar.”

Cecil presses his lips together. He stares at his plate. That’s a fairly frequent one. Cecil doesn’t know who his birth parents are. No one does. And apparently, that’s suspicious. He can never be one of them if he can’t prove his parentage, no matter if Chief Commander Menelaus himself had chosen Cecil.

He’ll never be one of them.

Another, apparently a frequent soldier under Seraphine, gloats. Seraphine, they claim, should have received Vesper.

“Daughter of Lord Aurum? She’s the one we should listen to,” they say with confidence. “She’s got the right pedigree, and she kicks ass.”

“Don’t see why she bothers with Stormhold,” one of them mutters. “She could have anyone.”

“Duty,” another pipes up. “Seraphine is as loyal as her parents. She’ll do anything for the Templar.”

“If you ask me, Stormhold could stand to learn that lesson.”

The nausea in Cecil’s belly worsens. Jam turns tacky on his tongue. One more swallow might be the end of him, no matter what it is. He pushes his plate aside.

“You going to eat that?” Shively asks. Her ears visibly twitch. She’d been listening in on the gossip, too.

Fantastic.

“Not anymore,” Cecil sighs. He pushes the plate closer to Shively, inviting her to finish it off. She’s always insistent on not wasting food. Cecil chalks that up to her being born in Seamount, the furthest Templar stronghold from Shandara.

“I’m going to make sure everything is ready for our departure,” Cecil says. He avoids glancing at the table of chatty infantry. “Take as long as you want.”

“Nah. I’m done.” Shively crams the rest of his biscuit and three slices of bacon into her mouth before washing it down with a finishing gulp of her coffee. “Let’s go.”

They leave, a burst of raucous laughter rising from the table of soldiers behind them, and realistically, it can’t be a joke at Cecil’s expense, but his face heats nonetheless. It’s not paranoia if they do actually despise you.

“It was a joke in poor taste. I’m glad you did not hear it,” Vesper grumbles. His back tingles as a burst of aggravation pours out from his Zivati. If she could erupt from her sheath and smack every one of the soldiers, she would.

Shively cracks her knuckles. “If it were easy to knock sense into the witless, the world would be a better place,” she says.

Cecil can’t disagree. He makes a non-committal noise, the thickness in his throat refusing to allow actual words. It takes all the control he has to reel it in, to put on that blank mask that shows none of his inner turmoil. He straightens his shoulders. He walks as though he has authority.

“Fake it until you make it as Sirene likes to say,” Vesper comments. “By M’ori, I miss her.” The ache in her voice makes Cecil’s own chest ache, like her emotions echo around his ribcage.

For all the books he’d read, the stories, the journals, none have ever properly conveyed what it is like to be pacted to a Zivati blade. And yet, he would trade it for nothing.

The air is crisp and cool by the time they emerge, breath puffing in the pale morning light, the smell of snow hanging in the air. The ground crunches beneath Cecil’s boots, frost clinging to the cobblestones, but Shively’s linen-wrapped paws don’t make a sound. A group of infantry loiter near the front gate, crowded around a borse-drawn cart while one of the stablehands leads Cecil’s personal mount by the reins.

Snow is a riding borse, a vires, and her white plumage stands out stark against the stone grey of Shandara’s walls. Streaks of purple break up the pale monotony, the same shade as Cecil’s eyes. He may or may not have chosen her for that reason. She’s sleek and fast, but steady under his hand, and has served him well since the moment he rose to Captain and was allowed a personal mount.

Some of the tension eases out of Cecil as he takes the reins from the stablehand and reaches up to scratch under Snow’s bird-like jaw. She coos and tilts her head to accept his fingers.

“Ready for some action?” Cecil murmurs as Snow chirrs and taps back and forth on her two back legs. Her front two paw the air before she drops onto all fours, her white crest a fan of feathers across the top of her head.

Cecil can’t help a grin. He gives Snow another pat before he turns to survey his unit. Immediately, he sees the reason for Shively’s despair. Of the ten infantry members, six are new graduates, evident by the singular badge on the lapel of their post-graduate issued uniform.

Two are unfortunately familiar faces. Dougan and Thatcher. They’ve been assigned to Cecil before, and they are professionals at deliberately misinterpreting his orders, often to fuck up Cecil’s carefully crafted plans. Thatcher, especially, reviles Cecil because they never managed to make captaincy, despite graduating a year ahead of Cecil.

Wonderful.

“Why do I count eight?” Shively barks, and immediately, the eight soldiers stand at attention, heels snapping together, forming two lines of four in a way they did not for Cecil’s arrival.

Cecil loops Snow’s reins around the saddle horn and pats her on the neck. She is, fortunately, much more obedient than his soldiers. “Stay.”

“We are missing two soldiers, Stormhold,” Shively says, crossing her massive arms over her chest.

-----

Day Four Word Count: 1720 Running Total Word Count: 8036

#blorbowrimo 2024 #draco writes #tethers universe #unedited fic #trial by sword

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autolenaphilia · 2 years ago

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LMDE 6 Beta First impressions.

I've been trying out the Linux Mint Debian Edition 6 public beta for little over a day now, and I have no complaints or bugs so far. LMDE is the version of Linux Mint that is based directly on Debian rather than Ubuntu, unlike the mainline Mint distro. LMDE 6, "Faye", is based on Debian 12. The point is to become as similar in features as the regular Ubuntu version. And it exists as a Plan B in case Ubuntu disappears or becomes unuseable as a base for Mint.

And It's good that this safety plan exists, because Canonical and Ubuntu are not that reliable. The Mint devs has had to rebel against Canonical's decisions multiple times, creating work for them. The Mint documentation has an entire page criticizing Canonical's preferred package format, Snap and why it's not included by default in Mint. The version of Firefox included in Mint is packaged by the devs themselves, since the Ubuntu version of Firefox is a snap (and if you try to install it via Apt, it will install a snap package instead). And ubuntu is moving more and more towards snaps, including an immutable all-snap Ubuntu. If that becomes the default Ubuntu release, derivative distros that don't use snap are pretty much finished.

I started my Linux journey with Mint, but moved upstream to Debian for awhile precisely because I was not comfortable with my operating system standing on such unsure ground. And unlike most Ubuntu-based distros (of which there are many), it's smart of the Mint team to realize that and create LMDE as a plan B. And now I'm on LMDE, because well that moves my computer off Ubuntu, while also enabling me to support Mint, which remains such an important part of the LInux ecosystem for being so beginner-friendly.

So how it is as a distro? How does it compare to mainline Ubuntu? and what does it add to its Debian base?

LMDE uses Debian stable, and as such the packages are outdated, but it's rocksolid stable. I'm running the beta, and because it's debian-based, the majority of the packages were well-tested by the time Debian 12 was released. So I haven't found any bugs so far. And Mint includes flatpaks by default, so you can get newer software in sandboxed containers without sacrificing overall system stability.

Mint adds to the basic Debian experience in many ways, the main addition is the many GUI tools Mint has developed. The software manager handles both debs and flatpaks by default with a slick interface. And the update manager handles updates with friendly non-pushy notifications, I've sang its praises before. Mint also provides tools to manage your software sources (to switch to a local mirror for example) and to create a backup of your home folder.

These tools are what make Mint so famously easy to use, as I written about before. For most common use cases, you never need to see the command line. It's similar to what MX Linux adds to Debian, which I've written about here. I think Mint probably has better looking and more intuitive GUI design than the MX equivalents, although the MX tools have more features. They are both great.

KDE Plasma and Gnome desktops does add somewhat similar functionality to base Debian, but I have reasons not to use those DEs. Gnome lacks customizability and forces a particular workflow, while I found Plasma to be a complete crashfest.

I ended up using xfce, which best met my needs, it's lightweight, easy to use and stable. And I didn't want to pollute it by pulling in bits of other desktops with all its dependencies. It did however require me to use the command line for things like installing and updating flatpaks, and i found running "sudo apt update" and "sudo apt upgrade" easier than using synaptic. I had figured out the command line by that point, so I could make do without the functionality of Mint, but the Mint tools are great to have. Having update notifications is great for an absent-minded person like me.

And they are sometimes objectively better than their Debian equivalents. For example the software sources manager that is in the Debian repos has been broken for months with a bug that leaves your apt.sources.list in a broken state that cuts your OS off from security updates, something I discovered the hard way and I had to manually edit my sources.list to fix it. The Mint equivalent works perfectly fine.

There is a lot of polish for desktop users In LMDE compared to base debian. It does add a lot of value that way.

How is it compared to ubuntu-based Mint (LMUE) though? And as someone who used LMUE cinnamon for months, I have to say the majority of functionality is all there. My experience is basically the same.

The only thing missing I could find is the driver manager, which can be very useful as it detects missing hardware drivers and pulls them in from either online or the installation media. The driver manager is to my understanding tied into Ubuntu's repos for additional drivers. Ubuntu has some of the best hardware support in the LInux distro world. Debian however has compromised their commitment to free software in favor of practicality, and now includes non-free drivers with their installation media by default, so maybe that functionality is not that necessary anymore. I've had no problems with wi-fi and blu-ray drivers on this laptop I'm typing this on, even with base Debian.

Another thing missing in LMDE is a choice of desktop environments by default. You only get cinnamon, the flagship DE developed by the Mint devs primarily for MInt. LMUE also offers Mate and Xfce by default. This is because LMDE is a "Plan B", and supporting multiple DEs on a second base would mean a too heavy workload for the devs. The Debian repos does however have Mate and Xfce in its massive package selection, plus several more DEs, and you can install them manually If you want, and still use the MInt tools, I tried it with xfce myself.

As a derivate distro, LMDE does also drag behind Debian releases quite a bit, when a new Debian drops it takes awhile for Mint to develop an LMDE version based on it. LMDE 6 was a quick turnaround by LMDE standards and it still took like three months after Debian 12's release. LMUE's turnaround for Ubuntu LTS releases is far quicker, because it remains a relative priority for the devs.

Still LMDE 6 is here now, and it's a great distro. It proves that Linux Mint is not relaint on Ubuntu, and adds useful functionalities to its Debian base.

#my writings #linux mint #linux #debian #linux mint debian edition #lmde #welcome to another installment of ''lena rambles about linux''

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gayarcstrider · 3 months ago

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☝️if i may tack on a few more options to some of these points,

level 3.2: network-level DNS fuckery on the go

DNS sinkholes like adguard home and pihole are great and all (and they don't just block ads! they can zap tracker domains too), but the one drawback is that, on their own, they can't be used outside of your home network. when you're on the go, your phone or laptop or what have you will still be at the mercy of ads and trackers outside of your browser.

enter VPN tunneling. this method creates a link between your device and the device running the sinkhole, allowing you to access its capabilities wherever you are. the best method for this is tailscale. it's simple to set up and easy to maintain, though if you're installing it on the linux command line (which you probably will be if you're setting it up on an SBC like a raspi) you'll have to familiarize yourself with the CLI guide. the full instructions and documentation are here for the initial setup, and the article for setting up DNS sinkholes with tailscale is here.

(a pretty specific note, but if you're setting this up in a system with trueNAS, make sure whatever sinkhole you choose is running in docker or whatever your container runner of choice is. dunno how true this holds up for other NAS/home storage + media server programs, but my dad had trouble getting them to run together until he put pihole in a container.)

level 6.2: fucking with android if you're scared of fucking up rooting (and have a phone with an unlockable bootloader)

no lie, rooting can be intimidating. like with any linux-based OS, there's a LOT you can fuck up if you do something wrong. ask me how i know [said as i jab a thumb to my hard drive that has linux mint on it]

another option, if your hardware is capable of it, is installing a third-party operating system. i currently have grapheneOS on my pixel 8a and it works fantastically. only downsides i've ran into is that google wallet doesn't work, networks i'm around regularly don't like the default 'change MAC address per connection' setting and getting RCS to work takes a bit of finagling, but otherwise it's worked very smoothly for me.

graphene is a privacy focused android distro that honestly does so goddamn much despite not feeling very different from normal android. namely, it restricts apps from having high-level system access to your OS and sandboxes google play services to prevent it from snooping behind the scenes. the whole features page can be perused here.

the one downside is that graphene is only available on pixel series phones, due to the fact that they're the biggest mainstream ones with unlockable bootloaders; this is a feature that's essential for securely installing a new OS onto a phone. calyxOS goes a bit further to support some motorolas, the upcoming shiftphone 8 and the fairphones alongside the pixel series. fairphones can even come with calyx preinstalled!

both of these OSes have easy to use web-based installers, though you do need to use a chromium browser for its web usb capabilities. there ARE other third party OS options out there, but graphene and calyx are the ones i'd recommend. ironic that the best way to get a degoogled phone is by using a pixel...

level 6.3: revanced is not just for youtube anymore

that's right, there's revanced patches for a plethora of apps now!! tumblr, spotify, reddit and more can have ads and other annoyances patched out with revanced manager. you can download and install it directly or use something like obtainium that'll install it on top of checking the repo for updates for you. it's a little confusing to use when you dive into it blind, so be sure to follow the documentation first.

i use revanced manager to rid tumblr, reddit, twitch and youtube of ads, as well as patch premium into spotify. much better than poking around for a pre-patched APK, that's for sure.

genuinely wild to me when I go to someone's house and we watch TV or listen to music or something and there are ads. I haven't seen an ad in my home since 2005. what do you mean you haven't set up multiple layers of digital infrastructure to banish corporate messaging to oblivion before it manifests? listen, this is important. this is the 21st century version of carving sigils on the wall to deny entry to demons or wearing bells to ward off the Unseelie. come on give me your router admin password and I'll show you how to cast a protective spell of Get Thee Tae Fuck, Capital

#ik im shadowbanned so we'll see how many ppl see this LOL #on another note i did run reviOS playbook earlier and it works goodly 👍 no issues with the install #great that you can run it on an existing windows install instead of having to do everything fresh #i just had to reinstall teams bc its mandatory for school but thats it

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ailelie · 5 months ago

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Scrivener Alternative: Obsidian + Longform

Backstory: I am moving to Linux (Mint), which means I can no longer use Scrivener. When you leave Scrivener, one of the first suggestions people share is Manuskript. Look. I tried it. It was a pain. Moving on.

So Why Obsidian?

I started using Obsidian for Lamplighters Guild as a world book, so I was already familiar. Back when I was setting that up, I'd heard of Longform, but I didn't bother trying it as I did not need it then.

Now I've tried it.

My current set-up lets me write in a series of scenes, which I can reorder should I so wish, and then compiles those scenes into a single document. While it won't format it as prettily as Scrivener, I'd already planned to find a dedicated program for that when it was time, so that doesn't fuss me.

I can easily split my screen and show two pages at once should I so wish. This means I can view two scenes side-by-side or my notes and the scene at the same time.

Longform also tracks daily word count goals and such (default is 500 words per day).

But, let's talk about my set-up.

In addition to Longform, I am using Linter and Dataview. Linter is a fantastic way to clean up the mess that copy/pastes in from Manuskript. It also manages the Properties bit you can see in that top pic.

I added the character, location, plot, and season lines myself (add them in settings so that they appear every time).

Note: You see how my only tag is 'draft'? I initially used tags for characters and plots. I had them all nicely nested and everything. BAD IDEA. Tags aren't metadata; they're organization. If you've any desire to do cool data stuff, you need your info in the metadata. Instead, I use List fields.

Dataview, which is a pain to learn, is what lets me do stuff like see at a glance which characters and plots are happening in each chapter. ("Happening" includes mentions or important information in passing).

The syntax for the above (plus a minor tweak to capitalize the second two columns) is here:

Three backticks mark the start and end of the code block.

"TABLE WITHOUT ID" means I want my data in table format and that I want to name the first column something else

The next row defines the columns I want. The first pulls the names of files. This first column is important because, if I understand correctly, it defines where to look for data. If you don't define a file column of some kind, the code will put one in for you.

The second two are the names of metadata fields (they should be lowercase in your metadata). If you don't rename them as I have in the white block above, they'll look like they do in the image above that.

So, at this point, Dataview is going to look inside each file and display its name and its metadata related to the characters and plots fields.

But...I have more notes in my vault than just my chapters/scenes. This is why the "FROM #draft" line.

FROM can only occur once in a code block and it can only come after the definition of columns and before any other commands. It is a picky little princess and definitely not the source of my frustrations this morning before I finally read the documentation.

You can limit to a folder, but that never worked well for me. Instead, I am telling the code to pull files from the #draft tag. Remember: tags aren't metadata; they're buckets.

You can list tags in a table, etc, but even if you nest them nicely, you can't do what I've done above -- splitting characters and plots apart -- nicely or easily. I found one thread where someone did something similar-ish, but it involves a lot of work.

Lastly, I've told the code block I want the files sorted in ascending order (note: this is the sole reason why my scenes have numbers).

I know dataview can do more. I have some ideas I want to try, but, for now, I want to rest a bit. I started today knowing nothing. Now I have a useful table that auto-updates.

(Ideally, I want plots as separate columns with "Yes" or blanks in the rows beside chapter names. I am doubtful this is possible, but I'll try).

ETA: Close enough!

#obsidian #novel writing #replacing scrivener #adventures in linux

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derinthescarletpescatarian · 2 years ago

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Mostly because computers are scary, I think. Open source projects tend to be focused on a fairly tech savvy consumer base (because that's who's getting together and building them), and while they are getting very good at being beginner-friendly these days, they're never going to keep up with the kinds of businesses who are incentivised to build their products like child's toys with bright buttons, limited functionality, and shaving off every possible use or function that the consumer could possibly use to accidentally break their computer.

Using operating systems as an example for a moment. We're in an era where many people don't understand how to save documents in different folders any more, and Linux uses a command line. "Command lines aren't hard to use, and once Linux is set up you can use the graphical interface!" I hear you say, and this is true. Even a computer illiterate numpty like me isn't intimidated by a command line... if their first computer was a Commadore 64 or some such thing. But many users today have never seen one. Many users today are intimidated by having to go out and find open source programs, because what if they do it wrong? They're intimidated by the sparser and more seat-of-the-pants support, by the more technical language automatically used in tutorials, by needing tutorials at all for many programs. By the fact that everything isn't bundled together and sold as a single package as if other programs don't exist (eg, how Windows acts like Microsoft Office Suite is the only such suite in existence). By saying "what program do I need?" and getting the answer "it depends!" followed by a discussion of computer specs that quickly devolves into three Mint Guys and two Ubuntu Guys discussing the details of their favourite distributions. It's scary! Computers are complicated and expensive! And seeing stuff that's just a little out of someone's comfort zone, even if it looks easy to learn, comes with an inevitable threat -- if you fuck it up, you will have absolutely no idea how to fix it. This is already unfamiliar when it's working perfectly!

And people can laugh (unfairly) at grandmas not understanding what tech support means when they say "find the icon on your desktop", but a lot of people aren't computer savvy and don't really have a pressing need to become so. When my washing machine breaks, I don't know how to fix it. I'm certainly not about to buy a consumer-built washing machine with customiseable parts that has a known history of breaking in weird and novel ways (because it's constantly being rebuilt to be better) where I'm expected to trawl through the conversations of other users every time something goes wrong.

Windows is built so that you don't need to understand what a file folder is any more. Linux uses a command line by default. Is more customiseability and user access to the functional parts of a system better? Yes. Unquestionably. Is it attractive to the average consumer, who sees a computer as a mysterious black box that will self-destruct the instant they click on the wrong thing? No. And this perspective permeates the entire open source space, not just operating systems; even for the most user-friendly open source programs, the perspective remains. LibreOffice is functionally identical to Microsoft Office Suite in just about every respect for the average user, but you suggest downloading it to the average Word user and they react like you've told them to go trekking through a swamp with no map.

I'm not a coder or game designer but I do follow a lot of game design channels on youtube so my reccommended list is usually full of random game design stuff. Anyway over the past few days my youtube recommended has been saturated with videos with titles like "Godot basics for Unity developers" and "How to learn Godot if you're used to Unity." For completely normal and random reasons I'm sure. No external reason why this might be a popular kind of video right now.

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gureumz · 2 years ago

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coffee and mathematical physics

rating: explicit

member: jake

notes: fem!reader, university au, student council vp jake x student council secretary reader, a very speedy friends to lovers, clothed sex, spitting, shy jake 180-ing to dom!jake, unprotected sex

a/n: i really wanted to write something nasty for jake (tho i can get nastier than this wink wink) after hearing him ramble about quantum entanglement bc hello nerdy boys are so hot ugh so anyways enjoy!

the words in front of you are starting to blur and the only other thought in your mind is that you need coffee at the soonest time possible.

end-of-year reports were always a pain in the ass, especially for the student council secretary, which, by your luck, is you.

"sunoo, can we get someone to buy us coffee?" you ask, shuffling through the papers in your hands.

"we can ask jake. he's on his way," sunoo points out, taking a seat beside you. he types away furiously on his laptop, the click-clack of the keyboard grating against your ears.

"great," you grumble. "text him."

sunoo makes a sound akin to being offended. "the last time i checked, i was vice president for internal affairs, a rank higher than you."

you turn to sunoo, scowling. he's smiling, obviously having not taken your command to heart.

"okay, okay, i'll text him," sunoo soothes, patting you on the back.

you feel a heaviness in your head as you try your hardest to remember the order the documents have to be in.

annex a, then annex b, then annex c-1, annex c-2...wait, was there an annex b-2? what's that supposed to contain? officer info? council info?

your internal tirade against the university bureaucracy is interrupted when sunoo gasps, giggling right after.

"how sweet, jake's already bought coffee even before i told him to."

"classic jake," you supply, a hint of a smile on your lips.

jake, as the vice president for external affairs, was expected to be the outgoing and agreeable one. true to his job description, jake always made an effort to make sure everyone in the council's mental health was accounted for. he knew when jay was about to bust a vein (and how to prevent it from happening altogether), he can tell when sunoo's getting overwhelmed with university grievances, and jake always somehow knew when you needed a cup of coffee.

always. without fail. just as you were thinking about it, jake would offer you a trip to starbucks.

"he does this whole coffee thing for you, you know," sunoo points out, nudging you with his arm.

"he does not," you argue, slamming the clear book cover shut. you push the papers away from you, your temples throbbing and your eyes aching from the strain.

"he does," sunoo insists, closing his laptop as well. "he told me once how he'd never bought coffee for someone so many times until you started working together."

"i never told him to do that," you mumble, your cheeks heating in embarrassment. "i don't tell him to pay, either, but he does about half the time."

"he's so down bad for you," sunoo giggles, getting up. he packs away his laptop, rummaging around his bag.

"are you leaving already?" you question, disappointed, as you thought you'd have another set of eyes and hands to help you with the report.

sunoo nods, pouting apologetically. "i promised ni-ki we'd eat dinner together."

you make a face. "he's so down bad for you," you repeat, imitating sunoo's high-pitched teasing.

he laughs, swatting at your shoulder.

before any of you can get another word in, the door to the council room opens. in walks jake, a paper bag in hand, and his oh-so-dazzling smile plastered on his face.

"someone asked for coffee?" jake says, eyes meeting yours. you can't help but smile back at him, having known for quite some time that jake's smile was just that contagious.

"we did!" sunoo replies cheerily, skipping over to jake. the latter hands him a cup.

"the usual," jake informs. "mint choco frappe, albeit disgusting, is a must for our mint choco lover."

sunoo punches jake lightly on the arm.

"and for our hardworking secretary," jake begins, walking over to you at the table. "an iced caramel macchiato."

you accept the drink, thanking jake as you do so.

"so caring," you comment, giving him your sweetest smile. "my dream guy, indeed."

"and that's my cue to leave," sunoo declares, walking over to the door, his bag in hand.

"let me know if you need any help, ______! i'll get back to you as soon as i can," sunoo calls out as he pulls the door open, exiting swiftly, but not before shooting you a knowing glance over his shoulder.

jake, most likely oblivious to the exchange of looks, takes a seat beside you, rifling through the papers you had just organized moments ago.

"these all look in order," jake observes, tongue sticking out from the corner of his lips. you stare, albeit unintentionally, cursing inwardly at how attractive this little habit of his is.

not that you'd admit that jake was attractive, not out loud, at least. sure, he was extremely good-looking, with sharp eyes and an equally sharp nose, and lips that are to die for, not to mention that personality that toed the line between warm golden boy and reckless frat boy. you don't even want to get started on how he gets around girls, especially the pretty ones and—

"what else is missing?" jake asks, turning to you. you blink rapidly, trying to regain some coherent thoughts in your head, but the only thing you can focus on at the moment is how good jake smells.

"uh...," you begin lamely. jake grins, raising his eyebrows as he moves his face closer to yours, the same way you would when encouraging a child to tell you about their day.

"evaluation forms," you conclude, fidgeting with the hem of your skirt. "the evaluation forms from last year's events."

jake nods, turning away momentarily. he pulls his laptop out before powering it up.

"jungwon should have that covered, right? he's the one who audited and liquidated them, after all," jake wonders out loud as he types. your eyes drift down to his hands and an internal monologue threatens to fire up inside you once more.

"yeah," you reply, willing yourself to stare at his laptop screen instead. "i think he just hasn't come around to printing them, yet."

"but they should be in the drive," you add.

jake hums, focused on the task at hand. in the meantime, you busy yourself with your coffee, taking a long sip, and immediately feeling your headache ease up.

"thanks again for the coffee," you say, lightly bumping your shoulder against jake's.

jake turns to you, smiling. you stare at each other for a few seconds as you take another sip. after a while, jake chuckles.

"what?" you ask, fingers swiping at your cheek. "did i get something on my face?"

jake transitions to a full giggle before shaking his head. "no. it's just cute that you're drinking out of a cup with my name on it."

you cock your head to the side before turning the cup around. sure enough, jake's name is scribbled on the side. nothing unusual, seeing as he was the one that ordered your drink.

"okay...?"

"nothing, it's nothing," jake says with a shake of his head.

"no, tell me," you insist, pulling on jake's wrist. he giggles some more, turning away from you in an attempt to hide his face.

"jakeeee," you whine, tugging on his arm. he meets your gaze, and it's only then you notice just how close he's gotten.

"okay, don't get weirded out, but like, imagine if i posted a story of you drinking from that cup," jake explains, gesturing to the drink in your hand. you nod, your curiosity building.

"and it has my name on full display. and you're drinking from it. the cup, with my name on it," jake continues, eyebrows raised once more as he gesticulates broadly with his hands, as if trying to get an obvious point across.

"and? is that supposed to mean anything?" you question, crossing your arms in front of you.

"i guess? i mean—well, i don't know!" jake stammers, collapsing into another fit of his adorable giggles. you laugh along, genuinely lost at what he's trying to get at.

"what, is it supposed to come off as like some romantic gesture that you bought coffee for me?" you ask, not expecting any particular answer, but jake's face blanks out at your words, his mouth opening and closing as if trying to find the right words.

"i mean, yeah," jake says timidly.

"but, you buy coffee for everyone on the council," you point out.

"because i didn't want to seem so obvious," jake admits, scratching at the back of his neck. you stare at him for a moment, unsure of where this is going.

"obvious? obvious about what?"

jake sighs, wiping his hands on his pants. "that i was trying to impress you with the coffee."

your eyes widen almost comically at this admission. jake was trying to impress you?

"you didn't have to do all that," you protest, suddenly guilty at how oblivious you've been. in your defense, you didn't want to read into it too much, if at all, for that matter.

"but, we're having this conversation now, so i guess it worked," jake says with a shrug. silence washes over the two of you as you try to think of what to say next.

"sorry," jake mumbles, clearly embarrassed.

"what? no! it's cute. you're cute," you blurt out and jake catches onto the last sentence, eyebrows almost shooting off his forehead.

"no, for real," you continue in a rush. "it's very sweet of you, jake."

jake grins, unable to hide the blush blossoming on his neck and ears. you feel your own face warm up.

"right," jake replies, clearing his throat. "it's nothing, really, i mean, i was gonna ask you out eventually, but—well, i wasn't really sure when, it's just—"

jake cuts himself off, covering his face with both his hands.

"god, sorry, what do i even say to that?" jake complains, laughing, obviously too embarrassed to speak.

you laugh, reaching over to pull his hands off his face. he looks at you with wide, puppy-dog eyes and you're convinced you've never seen anything as adorable as jake in this moment.

"relax," you say as you take jake's hands in yours. you set your coffee cup down. "tell you what, let's just put that conversation away for now."

you pull your chair closer to jake's, your knees knocking against his. you thread your fingers between his own, turning your full attention to him.

"tell me about your day instead," you suggest, laying your other hand on your clasped ones. jake seems to visibly relax at this, squeezing your hand.

"okay," jake begins hesitantly. "well, i had one class today, which was mathematical physics."

you nod, encouraging him to go on.

"i don't wanna bore you with the specifics, so...," jake warns, seemingly unsure of whether to continue or not.

"you could never bore me," you reply, smiling. jake's whole face turns red this time and he can't help the peals of laughter that erupt from his lips.

"you can't say stuff like that," jake says with a pout. "you just can't!"

you grin, amused at jake's flustered state. "okay, okay, i won't. please, tell me about mathematical physics."

jake clears his throat again, cheeks still a shade of pink. "right, so it's a class that i really enjoy because, if you didn't know already, i love math and physics, so this is like their genius lovechild or something."

you nod, leaning closer to jake. if he notices, he doesn't say anything.

"it's mostly just theory since it bases on the mathematical foundation of theoretical physics," jake pauses. "duh jake, theoretical physics, so, of course, it's mostly theory."

you snicker at his little side commentary.

"so yeah, we had a lecture today, and not going into specifics again since you probably wouldn't understand much of it anyway, we touched on statistical mechanics."

you nod along, and as much as you hate to admit it, you've tuned out most of what jake's saying, too focused on the way his face lights up and shifts as he explains. he still uses his hands as he goes along, even the one that's holding yours.

it's cute.

you don't realize that he's stopped talking until he suddenly laughs, getting closer to your face.

"you're not listening, are you?" jake challenges, grinning mischievously.

you stutter for a few seconds, mentally kicking yourself because you're the one who convinced him to talk about his day and you're not going to listen to him in the end?

it's your turn to be embarrassed as he lets go of your hand in favor of resting his arm on your chair behind you, circling it around your shoulders.

"sorry," you murmur, a sudden warmth spreading over you. "i don't really care about physics. i just wanna hear you talk about it."

jake smiles. "oh?"

"yeah," you nod, shifting closer to him. you swing your legs over to rest on his lap, meaning it to be a wholesome gesture, just something to bring you physically closer to him.

jake doesn't seem as flustered now because he catches your legs, tucking his forearm behind your knees before pulling you completely off your chair and onto his thighs. his other arm supports your waist now, leaving you seated sideways on his lap.

your skirt has flipped outward and you were now sitting your bare ass on jake.

"you're such a nerd," you comment with a laugh, circling your arms around jake's neck. his eyes flick up and down between your eyes and lips.

you get the message.

"a hot nerd, i hope?" jake asks, tilting his head to the side.

"the hottest," you confirm before leaning in to press your lips to his.

jake groans, fingers curling into the material of your blouse as he pulls you even closer. you part your lips, his other hand delicately tucking strands of hair behind your ear. he grips one side of your face right after, angling his own head in order to kiss you even deeper.

your own hands find purchase in his perfectly gelled hair, the soft strands gliding in between your fingers. something about jake walking out of this room with messed up hair because of you sends a jolt of excitement through your body.

"sit on me, baby," jake requests, pulling away. he's panting, eyes dark as he looks at you with want.

"i already am," you say with a hint of confusion.

"you know what i mean," jake says, voice gruff as his hands grab your waist, maneuvering you around. you hurriedly slide off his lap, but only for a second.

you straddle jake, your thin lace underwear and his cotton sweatpants the only barriers between your heated core and his hard-on.

you swivel your hips forward experimentally and the friction has you moaning. jake throws his head back, bottom lip caught between his teeth.

you continue your movements at a steady pace, the only sounds coming from both of your labored breathing. it should be embarrassing how you're like a couple of horny teenagers just humping each other at school of all places, but neither of you has the capacity to care at the moment.

jake reaches under your skirt from behind, palms smoothing over your ass before he grabs at your cheeks, controlling your movements.

"fuck yeah," he curses under his breath, looking up at you through his long lashes. you reach down, undoing jake's button-up, all the way down to the last button, exposing his toned chest and abs.

"get off" jake whispers. "bend over the desk."

you inhale, practically scrambling off jake's lap. you do as you're told, pressing your upper body against the table, documents and all, exposing your ass to jake.

he flips your skirt over, dragging your panties down until they fall at your ankles. you step out of them, kicking them off to the side. you squeal when you feel jake's fingers running up and down between your folds, coating himself with your wetness.

"who knew a few cups of coffee over the course of a semester would lead to this," jake says, slipping a finger in. you bite your lip, trying to conceal the sounds that threaten to escape your lips.

jake adds another. "spread wide open for me."

jake slowly drags his fingers in and out of you and you have to clamp a hand down on your mouth. you clench around the thick digits, the pad of jake's thumb ghosting over your puckered rim. he teases it ever-so-slightly and you can't stop the whimper that leaves you.

jake covers the lower half of your face with his large hand. "sshh," jake coos in your ear as he leans down. "don't want anyone to discover the student council vice president and secretary getting it on in the council room now, do we?"

you shake your head, grabbing at jake's wrist. you mumble against his palm, but it comes out a garbled mess of words. he seems to take pity on you because he removes his hand momentarily to let you speak.

"please," you try to say as quietly as you can, despite jake's fingers shoved deep inside you. "fuck me, please."

you turn to look at jake and it's like all traces of the previous jake are gone. his face is serious but a dark glint is in his eyes, and you somehow know you're about to get fucked within an inch of your life.

jake forces your head down on the table, your cheek smushing against the smooth plastic. jake removes his fingers from inside you, leaving you clenching around nothing. you hear a wet pop and you immediately know he's helping himself to your arousal.

"delicious, babe," jake comments, leaning down to plant a kiss on your temple.

"if anything gets too much, our safe word is 'coffee'," jake reminds, kissing you again, this time on the cheek that isn't being pressed against the desk.

jake lets go of you for a second, but you don't dare move, both afraid and exhilarated at the idea of what might happen if you do. you hear rustling from behind you and you know jake has pulled his pants down.

you turn to take a peek and what you see has your mouth watering.

jake is of a highly commendable size. you'd say around 6 inches from where you're looking and girthy.

jake catches you staring and he snickers, giving his cock a few pumps.

"like what you see, sweetheart?" jake asks, thumbing at the precum spilling from his tip.

"yeah," you breathe out. "can't wait to have it inside me."

jake chuckles lowly. "no need to wait, baby."

jake rubs the length of your core once, twice, before pushing right in. a sound between a groan and a sigh escapes you, the feeling of fullness hitting you head-on.

"fuck," jake curses. "fuck yes."

jake starts to move, pulling out almost all the way before plunging back in. he goes in so deep, it. has your head spinning. you lay there, splayed out against the work you were poring over merely half an hour ago, wondering if the office would accept cumstained documents.

"up," jake commands. it takes you a second but you manage to hold yourself up with trembling arms, the desk's mechanical creaking loud inside the room.

jake takes hold of your neck his other arm wrapping around your waist. he pulls you flush against him, thrusting up shallowly into your dripping pussy.

"good girl," jake croons in your ear. he tightens his fingers around your airway. "you're my good girl, right?"

you let out a sound, unable to find proper words to confirm that, yes, you're his good girl and you'd do anything he asks of you, whatever it is he wants, you'd gladly do it.

your meek whimpers turn into a whine of protest when you feel jake pull out. he leans over, shoving papers and other things to the very edge of the desk. some papers flutter off the table completely but both of you fail to notice.

"lie down," jake instructs, pushing you towards the desk. you turn around, hoisting yourself up on the desk before laying down as jake had said.

jake enters you again, resuming his previous pace. pressure builds up inside of you, your eyes rolling into the back of your head with every brush of jake's cock against that one spot within.

"open," jake's voice cuts through the haze in your mind. you blink at him, unsure of what he's asking you to do. he makes a sound of impatience, grabbing your jaw.

"open your mouth," jake says, leaning over. you part your lips and jake aligns his face above yours. he gathers spit between his lips and before you can register what he's doing, he lets the liquid fall right into your awaiting mouth.

"swallow," jake orders, forcing your mouth shut. you oblige, your whole body flushing at the filth he's making you do.

jake speeds up his movements, seemingly satisfied. you gasp, grabbing onto jake's arm. he's holding onto your hips as if you were nothing, his grip on you so tight, like he might fling you around with no problem at all. he's fucking you like a man starved and you're loving every second of it.

"g-gonna cum," you whimper, fingers clumsily rubbing at your clit in an attempt to bring you closer to your orgasm.

"yeah?" jake responds. "gonna cum all over my cock, hm?"

you nod frantically, back arching off the table as you feel it approach.

"come on baby, cum all over this cock," jake eggs on. "so fucking hot, baby, cumming from this cock alone."

you cry out, a wave of pleasure crashing into you. your mouth hangs wide open, breathing labored as euphoria grips you from every side.

you hear jake groan from above you and you watch as your orgasm is fading away, jake pulling out and pumping his cock furiously. he finishes all over your exposed cunt, some of his cum staining your skirt.

yours and jake's breathing comes out loud, both of you spent from the harsh fucking you just did.

"fuck," jake mutters, rubbing his softening dick all over your swollen pussy. "that's hot."

you laugh breathlessly, propping yourself up on your elbows. jake looks at you, immediately bursting into laughter.

"well, damn," jake says, pulling back to survey the scene in front of him.

"that's one pretty picture if i've ever seen one," jake concludes, giving you a thumbs up.

you roll your eyes, peeking down to assess the mess you both made.

"shut up and help me clean up," you tease good-naturedly, sliding off the desk. jake smiles, leaning in to peck your lips.

"of course, my ever-so-hardworking secretary."

#enhypen smut #enhypen scenarios #jake smut #jake scenarios #w: jake

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0x00000010 · 3 years ago

Text

0x5E1F1E

i released an experimental artwork that allows the viewer to create collaborations with me in realtime and mint the resulting 1/1 artworks on tezos

it takes in your camera stream through a DOS/ASCII style filter created by 0x10 and there are some controls where you can configure colours and character sets

when you're happy with the creation you can press mint and a preview of the final artwork will be displayed. this is where you can add a title and description for the token

all minted artworks appear in the collection on objktcom and rarible and are marked as collaborations between the minter and 0x10

on-chain artworks and viewer

each artwork has a 100% on-chain ASCII version that is stored alongside the artwork on the blockchain and can be used to reconstruct the artwork without ipfs

for this we pay per byte, so there is an associated storage cost for each selfie that increases depending on the complexity of the final output - the more colours, characters, and overall noise in the scene the higher the on-chain storage costs

i created an accompanying token viewer application which is also 100% on-chain, and this came with a whole heap of problems i had to figure out in order to achieve

it can be installed via a single terminal command available inside the artwork. the same command is minted at typed.art/8280

running the command installs and optionally opens a local viewer app. this app is extremely basic because it was written from scratch, by hand, and optimised to fit inside a single tezos blockchain transaction, which also brought about a lot of limitations i had to get around to achieve this part of the artwork

technical information

the artwork consists of 6 smart contracts. 3 of them are utility contracts that do things like checking signatures, domains, and token balances, and the other 3 are the mintery, the on-chain asset storage, and the tokens themselves

when you access the site for the first time you need to request a "mint access token"

this token is an NFT that will appear in your wallet from the mintery contract, and is your key to minting selfies. it's not possible to call the minting functionality without this special access token in your wallet

you also require a tezos domain linked to the wallet. both the tezos domain and the mint access token are used to create a unique signature that gets signed and attached the each mint request and gets verified on-chain during the mint process as part of a bot-resistant proof-of-concept minting technique

fun facts

the entire artwork is to be considered a self-portrait of 0x10

the artwork is 100% web3 - there are no servers, the primary artwork site is hosted on ipfs with the dns running through the linked tezos domain page (0x5E1F1E.tez.page)

i initially created the entire artwork to use gzip compression for storing the on-chain data and then at the very end when i was writing the on-chain viewer i could not fit my gzip decompression code into a single blockchain transaction, so had to scrap and re-implement the entire engine using a basic LZW implementation instead of gzip to achieve my goal of having a self-contained transparent on-chain viewer application that fits into a single transaction

there is a super-secret glitch mode hidden inside the artwork that can lead to some pretty amazing creations - however, the complexity of the final results can lead to very expensive storage costs for the on-chain versions of glitched creations and they can even deviate slightly from the original (below example would cost over 5tz in on-chain storage alone)

there's on-chain documentation for reconstructing a selfie from the raw on-chain data

the hex representation of the red colour in the access token and logo is #5E1F1E

there is an upper max limit of 0x5E1F1E (6168350) selfies available

you may use outputs from 0x5E1F1E or even 0x5E1F1E itself as an input into new artworks provided attribution of some sort to either 0x5E1F1E or 0x10 is included with the new artwork

my versum genesis is one of my earliest glitch-mode outputs created while i was developing selfie

i had fun making this artwork, i hope you have fun using it, and i look forward to seeing more creations

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darlingpoppet · 4 years ago

Text

Translation of the Erwin and Levi story, "The Crumbled Castle Gate" (CD drama version)

[Cross-posted from twitter]

This audio drama is an adaptation of a short story originally made for AU smartpass and later published as bonus material with the Japanese tankobon. (fan translation of the short story version is here). The audio was included with 5 other short story tracks which came with the Final Season DVD/blu-ray sets as special features. The following is a translation of the audio transcript.

Narration: The entrance to the old castle served also as an opening to the stone wall that surrounded its entirety. Although it had already decayed, what once was a sturdy wooden gate lay fallen on the ground. Above the gate and wall, there was a covered space for people to come and go, and there they could hide to shoot arrows through open holes. It was evidence that humans once fought on a large scale. It was long ago, when knights in armour battled one another. (Footsteps) Levi: What are you looking at, Erwin? Erwin: Oh is that you, Levi? What about Eren? Is he underground? L: I left him with Petra and the others. He might be out and about, but it’s under Hanji’s authorisation. E: That’s fine, then. (Footsteps) L: Is right over there the direction of the royal capital? E: Yes. Can you see it? L: The royal capital? E: An archer has to bend down to shoot their arrow. It must be easy for them to see what’s going on outside. L: What are you trying to say? E: The stones that make up the walls are also thick. The rain can’t blow in, so the view is not obstructed and you can see well. Though it’s a shame that it’s raining, it is a magnificent castle. L: Hanji also said that it’s quite solid. E: If there were to be a war with the monarchy, this would become a strategic location. L: (laughs) That’s no laughing matter, even if you’re joking. The central government is already keeping an eye on us when it comes to Eren. No, not just the government… all of those fucking pigs whose self-preservation is their top priority. Now more than ever you’re in a position where you have to refrain from making such disturbing statements. E: If you’re the only one listening, no one will be able to complain. L: Suit yourself. ([Internal monologue] I can never read Erwin’s thoughts or movements. Even still, the reason I can obey Erwin is for the sake of the final results we’ve been working toward since he became the commander, and because of his infinite determination. If he thinks it is necessary for the liberation of mankind, he’d be willing to turn even the king into an enemy. There’s no use thinking about it. The king and other powers that be have been irrelevant since the beginning. He dedicated his heart for humanity’s freedom.) [Talking aloud] What was so fun earlier about doing nothing but fervently looking outside? E: There wasn’t anything fun about it in particular. I don’t really know why but, I’m just looking around at where I’m standing from up on this high place. L: (laughs) You really are a funny guy. It’s not just that you think outside the box. You were born into a normal household but you joined the Survey Corps, and you go through all this trouble diving into a hell crawling with titans just so you can free humanity. E: It’s not just those who were born poor who are dissatisfied with the status quo. There are just too many things we still don’t understand. What kind of world is outside the walls? Who are the titans? Where did they come from? How should humanity fight in order to exterminate them? L: Who knows. You’re the ones whose job it is to think. I just kill titans, that’s it. E: You’re right. In any case, to me everything inside these walls is like being inside a cage. L: For fuck’s sake, if I thought you were talking like Hanji before, now you’re sounding like the brat! E: Hanji’s knowledge of titans is by far the best in the corps. I could never hope to reach that level of sincerity. L: That damn four-eyes is nothing but a perverted weirdo. E: By ‘brat’, do you mean Eren? According to our documents, even before the fall of Wall Maria he apparently had been saying that being inside the walls is the same as spending a lifetime as livestock. I’m sure I saw it in the records left by the Garrison. L: Yeah, I also get that vibe. Sometimes he looks like an animal… he’s got the eyes of a carnivorous beast on the hunt. E: You’re right. L: He will never be able to submit. He also has hatred for the titans. His mother was eaten up. But moreover, his eyes burn with dissatisfaction for a status quo where having interest outside of the walls is forbidden, on top of frustration with himself for being so ignorant and helpless. E: You’re saying I’m the same way? L: Sometimes. E: (laughs) So you’re saying I have the eyes of a newly minted soldier in my tender years? I must look younger than I thought. L: I’m not praising you. E: I know that. (laughs) L: Tch. Well, going full throttle may be doing it your way but if you’re not careful you’ll get tripped up and you’ll be in a world of pain. E: Yes. It would be wise to proceed with everything cautiously. (rustle of fabric sound) You’ll come along with me, won’t you? (rustle of fabric sound) L: Yes. Because beyond, there has to be a clear breeze to blow away this depressing rain. Narration: The two great men of the Survey Corps stayed there waiting for the rain to stop. The wings of freedom on their backs, soaked from the downpour, looked as if they were shining more than ever.

#levi ackerman #erwin smith #eruri #translation

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